Tag Archives for carbon emissions

So many of my friends and family seem to be getting married at the moment that linking the subject with being environmentally friendly was bound to happen sooner or later. Large life events can have a huge impact on your carbon footprint, and weddings are certainly no exception to the rule.

Although not yet compulsory, a number of companies have voluntarily been auditing and reporting on their carbon emissions, and many companies are seeing the benefits, a report commissioned by the government has revealed.

Few of us know that while we think our machines are sleeping, they are actually leeching 25% of the power that they consume from us. We also don’t often think about the fact that more than half the trees chopped down in the world are used for paper.

A revolutionary new product from organic light emitting diode (OLED) technology company, LOMOX, based in St Asaph, North Wales, could replace the light bulb. OLEDs provide a low energy light source that can be used as part of flat panel displays and provide low energy lighting solutions, and LOMOX’s latest innovation could revolutionise interior lighting, integrating OLEDs into wallpaper.

Even the most environmentally minded among us often have to frequently rely on four wheel car transportation to get us from A to B so finding a low carbon emitting car, whether it’s a family car or a commuter vehicle, is important. Stop-start technology, which is also known as micro-hybrid technology, is tipped to become a standard component in vehicles and would be responsible for considerable carbon emission reductions.

If you’ve not heard of 10:10, the campaign to cut carbon emissions by 10% in 2010, then listen up. The campaign is open to anybody, from organisations to individuals, businesses to charities, who want to make a commitment to reduce their carbon footprints and help in the fight against runaway climate change and aims to unite everybody in a communal effort to cut carbon.

Further to a trial in 8 of their buildings, the Environment Agency will install Voltage Power Optimisation technology in a further 33 of its buildings in a bid to reduce their energy consumption and carbon emissions. The trial resulted in a saving of between 10%-18% of the buildings’ electricity consumption, which is the equivalent of 281 tonnes of carbon.

The NHS has the biggest carbon footprint of the whole UK public sector, emitting over 18 million tonnes of CO2 per year. In an effort to help reduce costs, save lives and help reduce the carbon emissions of the organisation, a handbook providing guidance to key decision-makers in the NHS has been issued along with a letter from the President of UK Faculty of Public Health, Professor Alan Maryon-Davis, the Director of the NHS Sustainable Development Unit, David Pencheon, the Chief Executive of the NHS, David Nicholson, and the Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation, Steve Barnett.

Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis has announced government plans to improve the green credentials of the UK’s transport networks. Through the introduction of a number of new ambitious schemes, it is hoped that the carbon emissions caused by transportation within the UK can be significantly reduced.

With the current economic climate putting restraints on the amount of money people have available to spend on a holiday, staycationing is becoming a popular solution to the family holiday on the cheap. Holidaying in the UK doesn’t only save cash. It can also help you reduce your carbon footprint and save the planet one holiday at a time.

After three years of campaigning for stronger commitments in reducing carbon emissions, Stop Climate Chaos Scotland’s work has paid off. On 24th June the Scottish Parliament announced that Scotland would be implementing its own Climate Bill; one that gives a stronger commitment to cutting CO2 emissions than any other act around the world.

Following the intervention of President Barack Obama signing a Presidential Memorandum requesting the Environmental Protection Agency to review the decision to deny the greenhouse gas waiver request submitted by California. The waiver will apply to California’s greenhouse gas emission standards for vehicles produced in 2009.

Environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth have launched a new campaign promoting the reduction of carbon emissions by challenging local councils to get serious about CO2. The campaign was launched with the release of independent research conducted by Carbon Descent, leading climate change advisors for councils.

Barack Obama has been accused of watering down the climate change bill following pressure from coal and oil companies. The policy that originally would have required companies wanting to build greenhouse gas emitting power stations and producing carbon emissions to pay for a permit and penalised them per tonne for carbon emitted has been diluted following discussions in Congress.